About
Matthew Stafford is Dead, also known as Stafford Died Weeks Ago or #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo, refers to an internet conspiracy theory that Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed away before the start of the 2025-2026 NFL season. The theory stemmed from Stafford’s recurring back injury that worried fans of the LA Rams ahead of the new season. Stafford was in and out of practice during the summer of 2025, eventually leading to the memes and jokes about him possibly being dead or cloned, which were mostly shared on Twitter / X in August 2025. The hashtag “#StaffordDiedWeeksAgo,” and variants like “#StaffordDiedADecadeAgo,” were a part of the trend.
Origin
On August 12th, 2025, X user @doulbedoink tweeted, “Matt Stafford has been dead for 3 weeks #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo,” gaining over 2,500 likes in a week (shown below).
The tweet came after a series of reports from outlets like NBC Sports that Stafford had been suffering from back issues that kept him in and out of practice ahead of the 2025-2026 NFL season. The reports generated viral discourse and memes on social media, such as when Stafford used an “Ammortal chamber” instead of practicing in August 2025.
Spread
On August 18th, 2025, X user @CoachLewGrizz tweeted a black-and-white photo of Matthew Stafford, captioned, “Wow, just heard the news about Matthew Stafford. Devastating! He was so young, but unfortunately, he died,” gaining over 3,500 likes in a day (shown below).
Later on that same day, X user @CoachLewGrizz shared another post about the theory that was a quote-tweet of a video showing Stafford out at practice. @CoachLewGrizz captioned it, “The LA Rams shared a deepfake video showing deceased quarterback Matthew Stafford practicing with the team. Disrespectful to his memory and to his family.” The post received over 13,000 likes in a day (shown below).
On August 18th, 2025, X user @sportswaatcher quote-tweeted a tweet from 2012, when Stafford was on the Detroit Lions, which showed Stafford with grass in his facemask, captioned, “Stafford died.” @sportswaatcher wrote, #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo might just be scratching the surface, #StaffordDiedYearsAgo is on the cards,” gaining over 10,000 likes in a day (shown below).
Various Examples
Rams rolling out Matthew Stafford for Week 1 #StaffordDiedWeeksAgo pic.twitter.com/4CMdO7ea56
— Michael Ritter (@MikeSteveRitter) August 18, 2025